I didn’t know Jasen Delgado was going to sound so smart.

But at 16, he’s already speaking like a boss. Clear, to the point, and enthused about getting the job done.

For a while, Jasen has been working as a professional ‘car photographer’ in South Florida. Snapping off pictures of luxury cars for ‘after market’ companies. He sets up lights and starts clicking away.

Jasen is part of a growing group of teen entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to fail, or succeed, based on their own business ideas.

This summer’s been tough on teens looking for jobs. The Dept. of Labor says teens between 16 and 19 have an unemployment rate of nearly 26%.

Those teens are competing against each other, older adults, and senior citizens.

According to ‘The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’, the number of teens trying to start their own businesses is on the rise. These are teens who’ve been either turned down for jobs, or have wanted to work for themselves- period.

I can tell that Jasen is happy doing what he’s doing. Picking up his digital camera and making his own money.

The next day, I met 19-year-old Jessica Cervantes. A pretty young woman with a quick smile and great hair. Jessica told me she’s always loved cupcakes, but never liked the mess. So at 16, she started trying to make a ‘better cupcake.’

She ended up with ‘popsycakes.’ A cupcake that sits on a pretzel. No need to touch the icing. No messy hands. Nothing goes to waste.

I met Jessica in West Palm Beach. She was late for our interview, but warmed up fast to my questions. Jessica says shes in discussions with a major airline to carry her ‘popsycakes.’

She’s excited and says she’s tweaking the recipe.

It’s been about a week or so since I met these teen entrepreneurs. I’m still amazed and impressed with their desire to do their own deal.

Fail or succeed, I get the sense that most adults who work for someone else could learn a few things from these teens.